1. Field of Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of controlled sonic energy emitting devices for treating material, particularly systems involving material flowing past or through a ‘processing zone’.
2. Related Art
Ultrasonics have been utilized for many years for a variety of diagnostic, therapeutic, and research purposes. The acoustic physics of ultrasonics is well understood; however, the biophysical, chemical, and mechanical effects are generally only empirically understood. Some uses of sonic or acoustic energy in materials processing include “sonication,” an unrefined process of mechanical disruption involving the direct immersion of an unfocused ultrasound source emitting energy in the kilohertz (“kHz”) range into a fluid suspension of the material being treated. Accordingly, the sonic energy often does not reach a target in an effective dose because the energy is scattered, absorbed, and/or not properly aligned with the target. Sonication has also hit limits on effectiveness when applied to higher sample volumes or continuous process streams. There are also specific clinical examples of the utilization of therapeutic ultrasound (e.g., lithotripsy) and of diagnostic ultrasound (e.g., fetal imaging). However, ultrasonics have heretofore not been controlled to provide an automated, broad range, precise materials processing or reaction control mechanism. In U.S. Pat. No. 7,521,023 and others, the use of ‘focused acoustical energy’ is described to overcome some of the limitations of traditional ‘sonication.’ Focusing the acoustical energy has many advantages, and can be effective at processing high sample volumes or continuous process streams through the use of a “processing chamber” through which the sample material passes.